Venus + Serena get political, speak out on Obama's inspiring victory

Although most athletes tend to avoid political discussion, Barack Obama's incredibly inspiring presidential campaign victory on Tuesday didn't go unnoticed in the tennis world.

The Sisters Sledge, Venus + Serena, were moved by the Chicago senator's win even though they don't vote because of religious reasons.

As someone who famously spoke out on equal pay for lady ballers, V discussed what President-elect Obama's victory would mean for minorities in the US saying,

America is a wonderful place. I love my country, I love living there and I love my passport.

But also it's a country that since its beginning - especially as it is supposed to be a place where people were escaping intolerance - it became a country which was intolerant of different minorities and skin colours.

It's interesting because just my parents - my dad grew up in Louisiana in a place where he was called `boy' and shown no respect, where he couldn't say anything, and his mother was a poor shear cropper. So I am very close to things like in the past.

So I think it's amazing that America has an opportunity to have someone who is from a minority or mixed race, or whatever you want to call him.

And, hopefully, it will just get more people opportunities and more people to work harder and say 'yes I can do my best whatever my background is'.

ReRe remembered the pioneers who helped pave the way for the sisters,

When I think of everything Afro-Americans have been through, 40 and 30 years ago, and even today you read of ridiculous things which have happened in America.

People see the importance of change and supporting someone who believes in change. Just to see Obama with his wife and kids, and how they are going to be the first Afro-American family (in the White House). It takes words away. I choked up.

I think of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X an Althea Gibson - she's why I am playing tennis today - all those people. And Arthur Ashe, who also led the way."

It's a great time to be black now in the USA. I did feel my shoulders were (back) and my chest stuck out a little more. In the back of my mind was, although this is a huge tournament, that there are so many big things going in in my home country and I would love to be there. But work beckons.